Ancient Fragments

Adventures of Heracles (3rd century)
"[Heracles] built up the one entrance and came in upon the beast through the
other, and putting his arm round its neck held it tight till he had choked
it...."—Apollodorus, The Library, Book II

While it might look like part of an ancient comic strip, this colored drawing
comes from what was likely a schoolboy's reading assignment. The fragment and
its accompanying text illustrate the first of the 12 famous labors plaguing the
demigod Heracles: slaying the supposedly unconquerable Nemean Lion and bringing
back its skin.